Quarantine-Ellis Island Guestbook

I would like to know how I could find out if my grandmother was quarantined for a time when she arrived from Italy. The year was 1900. This is the first time I have seen this site and its wonderful. Thank you for all your work. carol bold

Ellis Island Quarantine looking for Passenger Listfrom Ireland to Port Maine May 16, 1913Boat CYMRIC US ATLANTIC PORTSLooking for Frank Javes And a Death Certificate if availableWould have arrived with Son Walter Javes and Daughter May Javes and Possibly Rachel Carolyn Powell-Frank Javes Wife.Thankyou you in advance would be much appreciated.

Hello, I'm trying to find any records for Hoffman Island in and around 1930. According to the 1930 Census, my Grandmother was employed on Hoffman Island as an Attendant. I would like to find any records as to her tenure and living situation around this time period. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I am facinated with your web site and the information on it. My mother was a nurse on Ellis Island, Hoffman Island, and Swinburne Island around 1920. I was wondering if you know of a bibliography that may have books of information re these islands in 1920? thank you

There is incorrect information on your site about the arrival information of Rosa Braunstein.She arrived on the SS Ryndam, sailing from Rotterdam, which arrived in NY on 28 Dec 1909. She was from Birlad, Roumania and traveling with her mother, Wittel Braunstein; her siblings, Isaac and Yetta Braunstein; and her cousins, Victoria and Jacob.

My great uncle, Jacob Rothenberg, arrived with his mother and siblings at Ellis Island on the Noordam on July 31, 1906. However, he never arrived in NYC where the father (my gr grandfather) came to get the family. Did he die on Ellis Island at Hoffman or Swinburne Islands? How can I discover what happened to him and where he might be buried? If he was sent back to Euorpe, where would this be listed? Is there a register for those who had a communicable disease or died en route in 1906? Thanks so much!

This site has been an awesome starting point for a research project I am embarking on.I am a doctoral student in public health in New York City, and I have become very interested in the history of Hoffman and Swinburne Islands in the context of the innovative approach to infectious disease and the public policies and investments made at the time. I would LOVE to speak with you about it. In the meantime thank you for gathering all these amazing resources.

My great, great grandfather arrived at Ellis Island on March 21, 1894 and died shortly thereafter. He may have died in quarantine. I would like to do a search like you did from the above date onwards of deaths at the 2 quarantine hospitals. How do I go about it? Where are the records you used?

Love the site found out about Swinburne Ilsland from a freind. I told him I would love to find info on my dad who was an orphane in the city. I was checking out some info on Swinburne Island and found it funny that the mans name was Dr. John Swinburne. My dads name was John Swinbourne middle name was Ignatius not shore if I have the spelling rite. Can you tell me where I would be able to fined more info I do not have much info at all so every where I look is a dead end. All I know is I was told he came from an orphanage in Long Island and it burned to the ground with all the filles. Can you help me at all?

My great great grandfather was a stevedore at Quarantine. He caught yellow fever and died there. Are there any records you know of from 1879 when he died? I can't find anything except newspaper articles about him. His name is John Hennessey (sometimes written as Hennessy). This site has given me more information about Swinburne than I found anywhere else. !!!

Thank you for your great work.My grandmother came here fromSweden in 1908. She was 18 years old and I always thoughthow brave she was to come here by herself. She married,had 2 children and lived to the age of 83. She lived withus and I always regreted not asking her more questions about her experience on her arrival at Ellis Island.It's sad to see all the children that died in quarantine &to their families that had to leave them behind.Thank you again.

It was interesting to see the data for the child who would have been my uncle. There is an error in the age, however. Jacob Weisling/Weiszling was 4 years old but the second data from the passenger manifest lists him as under one year old, which I believe was wrong. I knew about this death from occasional mention of the quarantine by my father, who was the Janos (John Weisling) listed in the notes. Anyway, it is interesting to see more then just a note on the Ellis Island manifest.

Good work. Thanks.Raymond Weisling, an immigrant in Indonesia in 2011.

Very useful but I want to know more! My grandmother arrived Dec 28 1911 at the age of 5. On the ship record has a stamp that she was released from the hospital. Her 11 month old brother Josef Kostrzak had a stamp that he died in the hospital. Beside the ancestry.com records, are there other records (online or, gasp, on paper) that might help me find out more about Josef Kostrzak's death and burial? Thanks. Mike

Hello,Thank you for your website. It is very informative. I was searching for a person that I thought died in quarantine. I used the search the database and located her. This person was a girl 6 years old who died in 1907. As described in your website circumstances were different than in the 1909-1911 time that is your focus. I found them in Kings which meant they must have been sent to a hospital there since this.It must have been very sad for families to bring a child with them and have them die like that. This was the couple's only child. The father had already immigrated and was in Seattle when the mother and daughter came.Regards,Jay Sherwood

I am very happy to read something like this .Everyone is entitled to a past.I didnt realize mine until I recently looked into the Ellis Island records.I since have learned that I had a great-aunt along with a great uncle I never knew.I also found out that she probably bore a child named Harry at Ellis Island.The unbelievable part is that my name is Harry.Maybe thats why I found out.Thanks for all the hard work you have done.

I'm trying to source a photo of people landing at Ellis Island- It appears to be from The Forgotten of Ellis IslandDeaths in Quarantine, 1909-1911 Photo Gallery for Quarantine Station and Ellis IslandQuarantine Sketches From a Brochure Published by the Maltine Company of Brooklyn, NY

Do you own the rights to this or alternatively could you point me in the right direction to find out

I am glad so see that I did not find my great grandfathers name or even his wife on the forgotten list. It at least lets me know they were alive when they came here and moved to Pittsburgh. They were Franz,Catarina,William,Anna,Theadore,and Barbara Muller now Mueller

Info found on Death Certificate located at NYC Municipal ArchivesYear filed: 1910 Reel No. 13 Certificate No. 371Age at Death: 19 Years, 0 Months, 0 DaysCountry of Birth: Crete Date of Arrival: 14-Mar-1910Place of Death: Swinburne Island Date of Death: 20-Mar-1910No. of days in USA: 4 Number of days in Hospital: 3Cemetery where buried: Mount Olivet Cemetery, QueensNotes/Comments: Immigrant

On searching for the Passenger Arrival Manifest, the following was found:Name: Not Found YetEthnicity: Gender: Marital Status Place of Residence: Date of Arrival: Age on Arrival: Ship Name: Port of Departure: Comments:

Info found on Death Certificate located at NYC Municipal Archives Year filed: 1910 Reel No. 12 Certificate No. 13-0 Age at Death: 3 Years, 0 Months, 0 Days Country of Birth: Syria Date of Arrival: 29-Dec-1909 Place of Death: Swinburne Island Date of Death: 2-Jan-1910 No. of days in USA: 5 Number of days in Hospital: 4 Cemetery where buried: Woodland Cemetery, Staten Island Notes/Comments: Immigrant

Name: Costoulos Afostolos ---------------------------------info found on Death Certificate located at NYC Municipal Archives Year filed: 1911 Reel No. 14 Certificate No. 325 Age at Death: 22 Years, 0 Months, 0 Days Country of Birth: Greece Date of Arrival: 25-Feb-1911 Place of Death: Swinburne Island Date of Death: 26-Feb-1911 No. of days in USA: 2 Number of days in Hospital: 1 Cemetery where buried: Woodland Cemetery, Staten Island Notes/Comments: Immigrant

On searching for the Passenger Arrival Manifest, the following was found: Name: Not Found Yet Ethnicity: Gender: Marital Status Place of Residence: Date of Arrival: Age on Arrival: Ship Name: Port of Departure: Comments:

The record for Margit Fackacs has the wrong spelling for the surname - it should be Takacs. I ordered the death certificate and it confirms that this was the younger sister of my grandmother Elizabeth who was also on the manifest. They arrived on the SS Carpathia on June 18, 1910 with their mother Erzsebet and brother Gyorgy. Can you change the record to the correct spelling or make an alternate record in both the "F" and "T" list?

For the past 6 years I have been searching for my g-grandmother who was on the Alsatia ship in June 14, 1897. She never arrived in New Orleans, La. She was traveling with her 4 small sons. I find them in New Orleans but not the mother.

Do you know if there are lists from the 1897 period of "missing immigrants? Any thougts would be appreciated.

I have just completed a successful search for my Uncle who died in quarantine at USPHS Hospital Ellis Island on 18 March 1921, age four months. Starting with few leads, my sister and I were finally able to locate the exact location of his burial and so bring to a closure some long standing questions.

Our search benefited greatly from your guidance in these pages, and turned up some additional leads that could be useful to other researchers. Kindly contact me at my email address so I can send you the full details.

Your site is wonderful; very informative. The contents inspired me to find a "lost child" from our family.
I did NOT know the EXACT name of the child.
I used the Index; sent for a death certificate for whom I believed was the child (name was similar). The work began there because there were no parents names. After multiple phone calls to elderly family members, I learned who the parents were. My search of Ship's Logs proved problematic because the mother was listed under her maiden name. I didn't know the mother's maiden name; more calls; more searches. Found the entry. She is lost no more.
My deepest gratitude.
December 1, 2005

Because of your site and the resulting research, I found a 5 year old child who had been "lost (according to family lore)," at Ellis Island in since November 11, 1910. The poor little soul died alone November 14, and was buried November 23. VEry sad.

I am trying to research the 1916 polio epidempic in New York. My grandfather was a four year old boy who was sent to quarantine - first at Swinburne Island, and then to other quarantine stations. My great-grandmother, who suffered from some mental illness, never visited him for the year he was in quarantine, but my great-grandfather, who was a NYC police officer, and a very good man by all accounts, visited him often and, on one such trip - being able to stand the horror any longer, stole the boy away and brought him home. My grandfather survived and lived into his 70s, working in NYC and living on Staten Island.

Can you help me find informative sources about Swinburne, the polio epidemic, and the quarantine that was forced upon those poor souls?

My granfather's name was Vincent Ward, and though I was raised and live in New Jersey, I still have family on Staten Island. I have seen Swinburne from the edge of the stony beach in Staten Island, through binoculars, but I'd really like the NPS to take me out there. The buildings still stand, though they are roofless, and the chimney of the crematorium in which they used to dispatch the unlucky and forgotten still stands, too, like a bony finger pointing heavenward into the Harbor's sky. It is terrible to think of my young grandfather, without his mother and with no idea of what was going on, or even if he would live or die, having to spend even a single night on that tiny speck of land, with the stench of the burning remains of his less fortunate former bunk mates stinging his eyes and nostrils. It was inhumanly cruel, and it is a story that needs to be told.

Just a little observation in general about immigrants today vs. yesterday: It seemed to me that they were of a better caliber in that they had respect for the people already here & were more likely to come here legally & really wanted to integrate into our society. (I think of my own numerous ancestors from various foreign countries & even others I know whose families immigrated long ago.) Not so with what we see today. (A good deal of all of that is lacking.)
On top of all of that they don't understand American ideology on the Left that would be privy to their situation. Liberals would campaign for their rights, not Conservatives, but only a GOOD Liberal would WITHIN the LAW, being COGNIZANT to NOT HURT the country.
I understand, as a moderate Conservative that we can meet somewhere in the middle by trying to remove the greatest cause for immigration into this country -- which is extreme poverty -- as opposed to condeming them to a life of it, which is both irresponsible & insensitive. They basically have no economic opportunity, which means that we need to have foreigners come into their countries & start up businesses or expand. In giving them jobs they would stay, & that's because most people only immigrate because their lives are worse, & immigrating is a scary & uncertain thing they would never think to do otherwise. Granted we have this, but it hasn't reached a saturation point. (Companies should only go for this reason, like maybe small companies that need to, not large companies to escape over-head being higher when they can afford it, as that's un-American.)
Consequently their countries would reach parity with our own eventually, & that's a world we can all be proud of that's fair for all.

Who ever reads this message, please be informed: My name is Rob Hagen and I am researching the exact location on Seguine's Point, S.I.N.Y, that the dead were buried after they were creamted on Swinburne Island. Any and all information along this line is invaluable. At present, there are no headstones or gravemarkers to identify where these courageous people were buried... and that is a crime.
Email: RhagenRKH@aol.com

Hi Cathy,
I found your site. I think it's a jumping off point for me. My great grandmother's sister, Mary/Marianna Borowicz Szczupak, probably died in either Hoffman or Swinburne hospital. Where do I write to request a death cert?
Info I do know: The Pretoria docked at Ellis 24 April 1907. She died 3 May 1907 along with her 7 yr old son. Across her and the son's line on the manifest is stamped: DIED IN THE HOSPITAL. Am I to assume it was Hoffman or Swinburne? What burrough or county do I request a death cert from?

The site was great and very informative. I have a question. Many of those who died on Swinburne Island were buried at Seguine's Point on Staten Island. As far as I can tell Seguine's Point used to be called Prince's Bay Road. There is no longer a Prince's Bay Road on Staten Island. Is Seguine's Point on Seguine's Avenue?

I was reading the list of immigrants who died in quarantine and I beleive I have something to add regarding one of the Greek men.
The person who you have as given name Moscofulos and surname Basilios is probably in reverse. The first name would be Basilios (or Vasilios) and the surname would probably be Moscopoulos.. I tried searching for him but I haven't find him yet but I'll keep trying. Its possible the hospital just messed up his death certificate. I will also try to research some more of the Greek ppl for you, that is my strong suit.
I'll let you know if I find anything ok?
thanks!
Debbie

I found this web site very interesting - although my father landed at Partridge Island at St. John, New Brunswick, and I would love to see a web psge on that Island. My father's small young brother died somewhere around there.
Keep up the good work - we need people like you - how very thoughtful to have this idea.

I just came across your web site in my email and went to look.It is great!But our ancesters had a really hard time.This shows some of the suffering they went thru.I don't have anyone so far at Ellis Island but found it interesting and know it will help a lot of folks find there long lost families.

What a wonderful site this is. I had always wondered about quarantine and death records from Ellis. My maternal gt. grandparents and children arrived in 1908 from Italy and I was curious about one son who either died in Italy before the family emigrated or may have died on arrival in the USA. None of my family knew any details and it was frustrating not to know. I checked your list of names and he's not listed, so I can now safely assume he died in Italy. Thanks again for your invaluable research.

Having been a resident of Hoffman Island in 1945,it was with great intrestI happened upon your Web Site. I was a Radio Officer in training with the US Maritime Service at that time. Swinburne Island at that time was a Coast Guard Station.A submarine net was stretched between Hoffman Island and Coney Island,to keep unwelcome visitors from NY harbor. Thanks for giving me the history of the "Islands". It was very interesting.

Looking for information on my Grandfather. I don't know if he went through Ellis Island or not. He is Albert Kelly, or Donald Longfellow. Just asking, get back to me as soon as you can. Thankz alot. The web-site iz wondrful, even though I hardly looked at it. Thankz for making the site avable for people like me to make some kind of colsure and/or contact.
yourz
BrOoKe

Hello, I would simply like to thank all those who worked hard to make this site avaliable for us who know our families came here suffering often great hardship. We can never truely imagine walking in their shoes, but this gives us a small feeling of being back there with them. They gave us a better life and built a mighty country. Thank God for all of them and their talent. If not for them where would we be?

What a heart-rending assignment you've given yourself. Congratulations on all your hard work and on determining what happened to your own ancestor who died in quarantine. I enjoyed the "Ancestors" series immensely and used its opening, inspirational stories in conjunction with teaching family history research. How wonderful that you were able to be a player in its production.

Looking for death record for John Barclay, born in Scotland, who supposedly died at Ellis Island while his mother was waiting in the hot sun to be processed . Where might I look for information on this death? Death date is 6/2/1880. I have not yet located the ship on which they arrived. Lynn Powell

I'm really impressed by the work that obviously went into this site. Thank you.

I'm pasting a site here you may want to take a look at. It is a far easier way to search the Ellis Island records. This is not my personal site. Just one I came upon which I find tremendously helpful.
http://home.pacbell.net/spmorse/ellis/ellis.html